Monster Smash Cake

Hello again!

My life has changed quite a bit since I last posted. We moved closer to my work. Clinton changed jobs and shifts; he now works evenings. These two events have sent my life into chaos. I love that I'm closer to work and family but I desperately miss my friends back in Ottawa. I have great neighbors here and there are plenty of kids for my girls to play with, but with Clinton working nights, I've basically had to learn to be a single mom. Grocery shopping, housework, yard work and hobbies have had to take a backseat to being the sole person responsible for my babies from 5 until about 10:30 when I can eventually get Elsie to sleep. I realize that I don't have it as hard as a single mom, but wow, I can really appreciate how difficult it would be not to have those two days where I actually get to see my husband and count on him for support.

BUT...now I'm back. I have managed to get a few projects done and I have a couple in the works. One of my favorite aspects of our new house is my craft room. (Yes, a craft room...be jealous). I haven't had a room devoted to my crafts since before kids and I'm ecstatic that I have one now. I was able to find a large wooden kitchen table on craigslist for $25 that I will be rehabbing in the next few weeks for my sewing table- details to come.  I love it!

My little nephew turned 1 in April. He's my little birthday buddy because his birthday is two days before mine. I love that I get to share my special day with him forever :).  He had a monster themed birthday party and my sister-in-law asked me to do his smash cake. Having two girls, I love getting opportunities to do "boy" things every once in awhile, so I was happy to do this.

I made a rainbow cake in two round 8 inch pans. Frost the cake with a thin layer of frosting.

For the frosting, I used the 1M tip to pipe the fur all around the cake and plate. To do this, hold the pastry bag at a 90 degree angle with the tip touching the cake and squeeze so that the frosting spills out the tip and pull up while releasing the squeeze to create the point.  It took 3 cans of frosting to create this look on a two layer cake. 

For the eyes and teeth, I used marshmallows. I cut the marshmallows in three pieces, so that i had three circles. The two outside circles were used for the eyes. I used melted black chocolate for the pupils. I placed eyes all the way around the cake. 

For the teeth, I cut the center piece of the marshmallow into a triangle and dipped it in granulated sugar. This took the stickiness away from the marshmallow and made it sparkle. 

For the smile, I drew several mouths on wax paper in melted chocolate to ensure that I got a perfect mouth.  

 Here is a tip for filling the pastry bag: Place the bag in a cup and pull the ends of the bag over the top of a cup. Its much easier to fill that way. No need to purchase one of those bag filling stands!

And now you have an easy and adorable monster cake!